METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING MAC PDUs

ABSTRACT

With respect to generating and sending a MAC PDU by using the radio resources allocated to the mobile terminal, the level of priority between the buffer status report (BSR) and the established logical channels are defined such that the data of each logical channel and buffer status report can be more effectively, efficiently and quickly transmitted.

CROSS-REFERENCE

This application claims the benefit of, and is a continuation of, U.S.application Ser. No. 13/181,023, filed Jul. 12, 2011, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/457,651, filed Jun. 17,2009, and claims priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Nos.61/073,743, filed Jun. 18, 2008, 61/074,998, filed Jun. 23, 2008, andKorean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0053409, filed Jun. 16, 2009, eachof these applications is incorporated by reference for all purposes asif fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method fortransmitting MAC PDUs to handle buffer status report (BSR) priority forCCCH transmissions. In the related art, buffer status reports (BSR) weretransmitted from the mobile terminal in a certain manner. However, therelated art technologies do not sufficiently address how buffer statusreports (BSR) can be transmitted more quickly and efficiently, and thusdo not offer appropriate solutions.

SUMMARY

The present inventors recognized at least the above-identified drawbacksof the related art. Based upon such recognition, the various featuresdescribed hereafter have been conceived for transmitting and receivingdata between a base station and a mobile terminal in a Long TermEvolution (LTE) system. In particular, for transmitting the data storedin its buffer, the mobile terminal sends its buffer state information(i.e. buffer status report: BSR). As a result, the mobile terminalperforms effective multiplexing of the data accumulated for each logicalchannel and the BSR to be transmitted, such that the BSR is more quicklyand efficiently sent and data block configuration (i.e., PDU assembly,PDU generation, etc.) can be achieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary network architecture for an E-UMTS (EvolvedUniversal Mobile Telecommunications System).

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary radio interface protocol architecture for thecontrol plane between the mobile terminal (UE) and the network (eNB,MME).

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary radio interface protocol architecture for theuser plane between the mobile terminal (UE) and the network (eNB, SAEGateway).

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary signal flow chart for RRC connectionprocedures.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary signal flow chart for contention based RACHprocedures between a UE and a eNB.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary relationship among certain channels (PDCCH andPDSCH) between the base station and mobile terminal.

FIG. 7 shows how a UE and eNB (base station) are connected.

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary radio resource allocation according to thefirst embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary flow chart of the procedure for the secondembodiment.

FIG. 10 shows the structural block diagram of a UE (100) and eNB (200)according to the exemplary embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The inventive concepts and features herein are explained in terms of aLong Term evolution (LTE) system or other so-called 4 G communicationsystems, which is an enhancement to current 3GPP technologies. However,such details are not meant to limit the various features describedherein, which are applicable to other types of mobile and/or wirelesscommunication systems and methods.

Hereafter, the term “mobile terminal” will be used to refer to varioustypes of user devices, such as mobile communication terminals, userequipment (UE), mobile equipment (ME), and other devices that supportvarious types of wireless communication technologies.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to sending and receivingdata between a base station (e.g. Node B, eNB, access point, etc.) and amobile station (e.g. mobile terminal, UE, user device, etc.) in a LongTerm Evolution (LTE) system. Power consumption of the mobile terminalcan be reduced to a minimum and a downlink channel can be moreeffectively monitored because a reception time for the downlink channelis determined according to the characteristics of a preamble for amobile terminal that performs random access.

Second generation (2G) mobile communications relate to transmitting andreceiving voice signals in a digital manner, and include technologiessuch as CDMA, GSM, and the like. As an enhancement from GSM, GPRS wasdeveloped to provide packet switched data services based upon GSM.

Third generation (3G) mobile communications relate to transmitting andreceiving not only voice signals, but also video and data. The 3GPP(Third Generation Partnership Project) developed the TMT-2000 mobilecommunication system and selected WCDMA as its radio access technology(RAT). The combination of IMT-2000 and WCDMA can be referred to as UMTS(Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), which comprises a UMTSTerrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN).

As data traffic is expected to increase dramatically, thestandardization for 3^(rd) generation mobile communications is underwayto establish a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network that supports greaterbandwidth. LTE technologies are employed for an Evolved-UMTS (E-UMTS),which has an Evolved-UTRAN (E-UTRAN) that uses OFDMA (OrthogonalFrequency Division Multiple Access) as its radio access technology(RAT).

FIG. 1 shows the exemplary network architecture for an E-UMTS (EvolvedUniversal Mobile Telecommunications System) 100, which is a type ofmobile communications system. The E-UMTS system is a system that hasevolved from the UMTS system and its basic standardization tasks are nowbeing performed by the 3GPP organization. The E-UMTS system can be saidto be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, which is a type of so-called4G or next generation system that has evolved from the current 3G mobilecommunication systems.

The E-UMTS network 100 can be generally distinguished into the E-UTRAN(Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network) 110 and the CN(core network). The E-UTRAN is comprised of a mobile terminal 112 (e.g.user equipment (UE), mobile station, handset, mobile phone, etc.), abase station 114, 116, 118 (e.g., an eNode B, access point (AP), networknode, etc.) a serving gateway (S-GW) 122, 124 located at an end of thenetwork for connection with an external network, and a mobilitymanagement entity (MME) 122, 124 that manages various mobility aspectsof the mobile terminal. For a single eNode B, one or more cells (orregions, areas, etc.) may exist.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the radio interface protocol between the mobileterminal and base station based on the 3GPP radio access networkstandard. This radio interface protocol is divided horizontally into aphysical layer, a data link layer, and a network layer, and is dividedvertically into a user plane for transmitting data information and acontrol plane for transferring control signals (signaling). Theseprotocol layers can be divided into L1 (Layer 1), L2 (Layer 2), and L3(Layer 3), which are the lower three layers of the OSI (Open SystemInterconnection) standard model, which is well known in communicationsystems.

Hereafter, the control plane of the radio protocol in FIG. 2 and theuser plane of the radio protocol in FIG. 3 will be describedrespectively.

In Layer 1, the physical layer 225-245, 325-345 uses one or morephysical channels to provide an information transfer service. Thephysical layer is connected to the MAC (Medium Access Control) layer224-244, 324-344 located above via one or more transport channels, anddata is transferred between the MAC layer and the physical layer throughthese transport channels. Also, between respectively different physicallayers, such as the physical layer in the transmitter (transmittingside) and the physical layer in the receiver (receiving side), data istransferred via one or more physical channels.

The physical channels that exist for the physical layer in thetransmitting side and in the receiving side include: SCH(Synchronization Channel), PCCPCH (Primary Common Control PhysicalChannel), SCCPCH (Secondary Common Control Physical Channel), DPCH(Dedicated Physical Channel), PICH (Paging Indicator Channel), PRACH(Physical Random Access Channel), PDCCH (Physical Downlink ControlChannel) and PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel) and the like.

In Layer 2, the MAC layer provides service to a RLC (Radio Link Control)layer 223-243, 323-343, which is an upper layer, via one or more logicalchannels. Such logical channels can be classified according to the typeof data being transmitted, whereby control channels are used to transmitcontrol plane information and traffic channels are used to transmit userplane information.

The RLC layer supports the transmission of data with reliability. Eachradio bearer (RB) guarantees a particular QoS (Quality of Service) andhandles the transmission of data associated thereto. In order for theRLC layer to guarantee the QoS that is unique to that RB, one or moreRLC entities are provided for each RB. Also, several RLC modes (TM:Transparent Mode, UM: Unacknowledged Mode, AM: Acknowledged Mode) areprovided to support various QoS requirements.

The PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol) layer 322-342 in Layer 2performs a header compression function to reduce the header size forInternet Protocol (IP) packets that contain relatively large andunnecessary control information such that IP packets (such as for IPv4,IPv6, etc.) may be effectively transmitted over the radio interfacehaving relatively small bandwidth. Also, the PDCP layer is used forperforming coding of control plane (C-plane) data, such as RRC messages.The PDCP layer can also perform coding of user plane (U-plane) data.

Located at the uppermost portion of Layer 3, the RRC (Radio ResourceControl) layer 222-242 is only defined in the control plane and isresponsible for the control of logical channels, transport channels andphysical channels with relation to the configuration, re-configurationand release of radio bearers (RBs). Here, a radio bearer is a serviceprovided by Layer 2 for transferring data between the mobile terminaland E-UTRAN.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary RRC connection procedure that includes thefollowing three steps:

Step (1)

When a mobile terminal in idle state needs to establish an RRCconnection for reasons such as making call attempts, responding topaging from the E-UTRAN, etc., the mobile terminal (10) first sends anRRC connection request message to the E-UTRAN (eNB: 20). Here, the RRCconnection request message includes an Initial UE Identity and an RRCEstablishment Cause (i.e. the reason for requesting connection). TheInitial UE Identity is a unique identifier for the mobile terminal thatallows that mobile terminal to be identified in any region of the world.There are various types of RRC Establishment Causes, such as callattempts, response to paging, and the like. Together with thetransmission of the RRC connection request message, the mobile terminalstarts (operates) a timer, and until such timer expires, if an RRCconnection setup message or an RRC connection reject message is notreceived, the RRC connection request message is transmitted repeatedly.The maximum number of RRC connection request messages may be limited toa particular value.

Step (2)

Upon receiving the RRC connection request message from the mobileterminal, the E-UTRAN (eNB: 20) accepts such RRC connection request ifradio resources are sufficient, and sends a response (RRC connectionsetup message) to the mobile terminal. Here, the RRC connection setupmessage is transmitted upon including an initial mobile terminalidentifier, a radio network temporary identifier (i.e. C-RNTI: CellRadio Network Temporary Identifier), radio bearer establishmentinformation, and the like. The radio network temporary identifier is amobile terminal identifier allocated to allow the E-UTRAN to distinguishmobile terminals in connected state, and used only when an RRCconnection exists, and is also only used within the E-UTRAN. After anRRC connection is established, the mobile terminal communicates with theE-UTRAN by using the radio network temporary identifier instead of theinitial mobile terminal identifier. This is because the initial mobileterminal identifier is a unique identifier for that mobile terminal, andits frequent usage would increase the possibility of undesirableexposure. Thus, due to such security reasons, the initial mobileterminal identifier is merely used during the RRC connection procedure,while the radio network temporary identifier is used for proceduresthereafter.

Step (3)

Upon receiving the RRC connection setup message, the mobile terminalcompares the initial mobile terminal identifier included in this messagewith its own identifier, and checks to see if this received message wasintended for itself. If so, the mobile terminal stores the radio networktemporary identifier allocated by the E-UTRAN, and uses such to transmitan RRC connection setup complete message to the E-UTRAN. Here, the RRCconnection setup complete message includes capability information (e.g.,performance, capacity, power, efficiency, etc.) of the mobile terminal.If the mobile terminal succeeds in transmitting the RRC connection setupcomplete message, then the mobile terminal establishes an RRC connectionwith the EUTRAN and transitions to its RRC connected state.

In the above procedure, the RRC connection request message istransmitted by using the CCCH. Namely, a mobile terminal in idle modedoes not have a DTCH/DCCH, thus only the CCCH can be used. The DTCH/DCCHis only established for a mobile terminal in connected mode. In theabove procedure, the mobile terminal can enter its connected mode onlyupon receiving an RRC connection setup message. As the mobile terminalis not in RRC connected state prior to receiving the RRC connectionsetup message, the RRC connection setup message is also transmitted viathe CCCH. Accordingly, the RRC connection setup complete message istransmitted via the DCCH.

Hereafter, features of the RACH (Random Access CHannel) will beexplained. The RACH is used for transmitting data having relativelyshort length on the uplink, and in particular, is used for a mobileterminal, which did not receive allocation of dedicated radio resources,having a signaling message or user data to be transmitted via theuplink.

Next, the Random Access Procedure provided in an LTE system will beexplained.

The mobile terminal performs a random access procedure for at least thefollowing exemplary situations:

-   -   upon performing an initial access when there is no radio        resource control (RRC) connection with the base station;    -   upon initial access to a target cell while the mobile terminal        is in handover;    -   upon request by a command of the base station;    -   upon generation of data for the uplink, when uplink time        synchronization is not correct or when designated radio        resources to be used in appropriate requesting radio resources        have not yet been allocated;    -   during a correction (e.g. decoding, reconstruction, etc.)        procedure when there is a radio link failure or handover        failure.

Based upon the above explanations, the operations between the mobileterminal and the base station for a contention based random accessprocedure will be explained with reference to FIG. 5 (that includessteps 1 through 4).

Step (1)

In a contention based random access procedure, the mobile terminalselects (e.g. at random) one random access preamble among a set ofrandom access preambles indicated via system information or a handovercommand, then selects PRACH resources that can be used to transmit suchrandom access preamble, and then performs transmission. Here, suchpreamble is called a RACH MSG 1.

Step (2)

After transmitting the random access preamble as selected above, themobile terminal attempts to receive its random access response within arandom access response reception window indicated from the base stationvia system information or handover command. In more detail, the randomaccess response information (typically called a RACH MSG 2) istransmitted in the form of a MAC PDU, which is delivered via the PDSCH.Also, to allow the mobile terminal to appropriately receive theinformation transferred via the PDSCH, the PDCCH is also deliveredtogether therewith. Namely, the PDCCH includes information of the mobileterminal that needs to receive the PDSCH, the radio resource frequencyand time information of the PDSCH, the PDSCH transmit format, and thelike. If the mobile terminal successfully receives the PDCCH that itintended to receive, a random access response transmitted via the PDSCHis appropriately received by using the various information related tothe PDCCH. Here, the random access response includes values comprising arandom access preamble identifier (ID), a UL Grant (for uplink radioresources), a Temporary C-RNTI (a temporary cell identifier), and a TimeAlignment Command (a value for time synchronization adjustment). Therandom access preamble identifiers are needed because a single randomaccess response may contain random access response information intendedfor more than one mobile terminal, and thus, indicate which UL Grant,Temporary C-RNTI, and Time Alignment Command information are valid forwhich mobile terminals.

Step (3)

If the mobile terminal receives a random access response (RAR) that ismeant for itself (i.e. the RAR is a valid response for that mobileterminal), the information within such random access response isprocessed, respectively. Namely, the mobile terminal applies the TimeAlignment Command and stores the Temporary C-RNTI. Also, the UL Grant isused to transmit the data stored in its buffer or to transmit newlygenerated data to the base station. Here, the data transmitted by usingthe UL Grant (i.e., the MAC PDU) is commonly called RACH MSG 3. Amongthe data (i.e. RACH MSG 3) included in the UL Grant, the mobile terminalidentifier (ID) must be included. This is because in a contention basedrandom access procedure, the base station cannot determine which mobileterminal performed such random access procedure, and in order to preventor resolve any future contentions or conflicts, information that can beused to identify the mobile terminal would be required.

In the above procedure, there are two ways to include the identifier forthe mobile terminal. For the first way, if the mobile terminal alreadyhas a valid cell identifier (C-RNTI) allocated from the base station(eNB) of the corresponding cell before the random access procedure isperformed, the mobile terminal transmits such cell identifier via the ULGrant. For the second way, if the mobile terminal did not receiveallocation of a unique cell identifier from the eNB, the mobile terminalincludes its core network identifier (e.g., S-TMSI, Random ID, etc.) andperforms transmission. Typically, such unique identifiers have a greaterlength than a cell ID. After transmitting data using the UL Grant, themobile terminal starts a contention resolution timer in order to solveany contention (conflict) problems.

Step (4)

After transmitting data (that includes its identifier) using the ULGrant included in the random access response, the mobile terminal waitsfor commands from the base station for resolving contentions. Namely,reception of the PDCCH is attempted in order to receive a particularmessage. There are two ways to receive the PDCCH. As stated previously,if the identifier transmitted by using the UL Grant is a cell identifier(C-RNTI), the mobile terminal attempts reception of the PDCCH by usingits cell identifier, and if the identifier is a unique identifier,attempt to receive the PDCCH is performed by using the Temporary C-RNTIincluded in the random access response. Thereafter, for the formersituation, if the PDCCH (referred to as RACH MSG 4 hereafter) isreceived via use of the mobile terminal's cell identifier beforeexpiration of the contention resolution timer, the mobile terminaldetermines that the random access procedure was performed normally, andends the random access procedure. For the latter situation, if the PDCCHis received via use of the Temporary cell identifier before expirationof the contention resolution timer, the data (referred to as RACH MSG 4hereafter) delivered by the PDSCH indicated by the PDCCH is checked. Ifsuch data contains a unique identifier intended for that mobileterminal, the random access procedure is considered to have beenperformed normally, and the random access procedure is ended. Themessage or MAC PDU received in this step 4) is often called RACH MSG 4.

With reference to FIG. 6, a method for the mobile terminal in an LTEsystem to receive downlink data will be explained.

On the downlink, there are basically two types of physical channels:PDCCH and PDSCH. The PDCCH is not directly related to transmitting userdata, but used in transmitting control information needed forimplementing (or using) physical channels. In more basic terms, it canbe said that the PDCCH is used in controlling other physical channels.In particular, the PDCCH is used in transmitting information necessaryfor the mobile terminal to receive the PDSCH. With respect to data thatis transmitted at a particular point in time using a particularfrequency bandwidth, information about what mobile terminal such data isintended for, the size of such data being transmitted, and the like istransmitted via the PDCCH. Accordingly, each mobile terminal receivesthe PDCCH at a particular time (e.g., TTI: transmission time interval)and checks whether any data (that should be received) was transmitted.If there is an indication that data (which should be received) wasindeed transmitted, the PDSCH is additionally received by using theinformation (such as the appropriate frequency, etc.) indicated by thePDCCH. It can be said that information indicating as to what mobileterminal (i.e. a single UE or multiple UEs) the data of the PDSCH isbeing transmitted to, information indicating how the mobile terminal(s)should receive and decode the PDSCH data, and the like are transmittedvia a physical channel, i.e. the PDCCH (Physical Downlink ControlCHannel).

For example, in a particular sub-frame, let us assume that radioresource information A (e.g. frequency location), transmission formatinformation B (e.g. transmission block size, modulation and codinginformation, etc.), and RNTI (Radio Network Temporary Identity)information C undergo CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) masking andtransmitted via the PDCCH. One or more mobile terminals in acorresponding cell use the RNTI information that it has in order tomonitor the PDCCH, and referring to the above assumption, for a mobileterminal having RNTI information C, when the PDCCH is decoded, CRCerrors do not occur. Accordingly, such mobile terminal uses thetransmission format information B and radio resource information A todecode the PDSCH in order to receive data. In contrast, with respect tothe above assumption, in a mobile terminal that does not have RNTIinformation C, CRC errors occur when the PDCCH is decoded, and thus suchmobile terminal does not receive the PDSCH.

Through the above procedures, in order to inform about which mobileterminals have been allocated radio resources, a RNTI (Radio NetworkTemporary Identifier) is transmitted via each PDCCH, and such RNTI canbe classified as a dedicated RNTI or a common RNTI. A dedicated RNTI isallocated to a single mobile terminal and is used for transmitting andreceiving data corresponding to that mobile terminal. Such dedicatedRNTI is only allocated to those mobile terminals having theirinformation registered in the base station (eNB). In contrast, a commonRNTI is used by those mobile terminals that do not have theirinformation registered in the base station (eNB) and cannot be allocateda dedicated RNTI, in order to send and receive data with the basestation or used for transmitting information (such as systeminformation) that is commonly applied to a plurality of mobileterminals.

Hereafter, aspects of the logical channels will be explained. Logicalchannels are those channels that exist between a MAC entity and an RLCentity. Some examples of logical channels are as follows:

-   -   CCCH (Common Control Channel): used when messages cannot be        transmitted via the DCCH between the mobile terminal and the        eNB.    -   DCCH (Dedicated Control Channel): if DCCH can be used between        the mobile terminal and the eNB, an RRC message is transmitted        to a particular mobile terminal via DCCH.    -   DTCH (Dedicated Transport Channel): all user data used for a        particular mobile terminal is transmitted via the DTCH.

Hereafter, the RRC states and RRC connection methods for a mobileterminal will be explained. The RRC state refers to whether or not theRRC of the mobile terminal and the RRC of the E-UTRAN have a logicalconnection therebetween. The RRC connected state refers to when there isa connection, while the RRC idle state refers to when there is noconnection. For a mobile terminal in connected state, an RRC connectionexists, the E-UTRAN can determine in which cell such mobile terminal islocated in, and thus such mobile terminal can be effectively controlled.In contrast, the E-UTRAN cannot determine a mobile terminal in idlestate, and thus such mobile terminal is managed by the core network interms of the mobile terminal's tracking area, which is a larger regionthan a cell. Here, a tracking area denotes a set of cells. Namely, theexistence of a mobile terminal that is in idle state can be determinedonly with respect to relatively large regions, and typical mobilecommunication services including voice and data services can be receivedby a mobile terminal that changes into a connected state.

When the user first turns on (or powers up) his mobile terminal, asearch for an appropriate cell is performed and the mobile terminalremains in idle state with respect to that cell. Only when an RRCconnection needs to be made, the mobile terminal in idle state performsan RRC connection procedure such that its RRC establishes a connectionwith the RRC in the E-UTRAN, and thus transitions to an RRC connectedstate. A mobile terminal in idle state may require establishment of anRRC connection is various situations, such as when uplink datatransmission is required (e.g., when the user wishes to make a callattempt or the like), when transmitting of a response message withrespect to a paging message received from the E-UTRAN, or the like. Forthe mobile terminal in idle state to establish an RRC connection withthe E-UTRAN, and RRC connection procedure needs to be performed. The RRCconnection procedure basically comprises three steps: the mobileterminal sending an RRC connection request message to the E-UTRAN, theE-UTRAN sending an RRC connection setup message to the mobile terminal,and the mobile terminal sending an RRC connection setup complete messageto the E-UTRAN.

As described above, the two main elements that comprise the E-UTRAN arethe base station and the mobile terminal. The radio resources for asingle cell are comprised of uplink radio resources and downlink radioresources. The base station is responsible for the allocation andcontrol of uplink radio resources and downlink radio resources of acell. Namely, the base station determines what radio resources are to beused by what mobile terminals at certain moments in time. For example,the base station can determine that 3.2 seconds from now, the frequencyfrom 100 Mhz to 101 Mhz will be allocated to user 1 for a duration of0.2 seconds to allow downlink data transmissions. Also, after the basestation makes such determination, these matters can be informed to thecorresponding mobile terminal such that this mobile terminal receivesdownlink data. Likewise, the base station can determine when a certainmobile terminal should use what amount of which radio resources for datatransmission via the uplink, and the base station informs the mobileterminal about its determination, to thus allow the mobile terminal totransmit data during the determined time period using the determinedradio resources.

Unlike the related art, if the base station manages radio resources in adynamic manner, efficient use of radio resources would be possible.Typically, a single mobile terminal continuously uses a single radioresource during a call connection. This is not preferable consideringthat most recent services are IP packet-based. The reason is that mostpacket services do not continuously generate packets during the durationof a call connection, and there are many time periods in which nothingis transmitted during the call. Despite this, continued allocation of aradio resource to a single mobile terminal is inefficient. To solvethis, the mobile terminal of a E-UTRAN system uses a method in whichradio resources are allocated to the mobile terminal only while servicedata exists.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show how a UE and eNB (base station) are connected, andshow an exemplary radio resource allocation according to the firstembodiment.

If the UE 100 has some data that it needs to transmit, a resourcerequest message is used to inform the base station 200 (eNB: enhancedNode B) that there is data to be transmitted, and the eNB 200 delivers aresource allocation message to the UE 100.

When the UE 100 informs the eNB 200 that it has some data to transmit,the amount of data accumulated in the buffer of the MAC layer isreported to the eNB 200, and such reporting is called buffer statusreport (BSR) procedure.

For the LTE system, in order to use radio resources efficiently, thebase station needs to know about the type and amount of data that isdesired for transmission per each user. Downlink data is delivered fromthe access gateway to the base station. Thus, the base station knowsabout the amount of data that needs to be delivered via the downlink foreach user. For uplink data, if the mobile terminal itself does notinform the base station about the data it wishes to deliver via theuplink, the base station cannot know how much uplink radio resources areneeded for each mobile terminal. Thus, in order to allow the basestation to allocate uplink radio resource to the mobile station in anappropriate manner, each mobile terminal needs to provide the basestation with information necessary to allow the base station to performscheduling of radio resources.

To do so, if the mobile terminal has data that is needs to transmit,such is informed to the base station, which uses such information todeliver a resource allocation message to the mobile terminal.

In the above procedure, namely, when the mobile terminal has some datathat it should transmit and when such matter is informed to the basestation, the mobile terminal informs the base station about the amountof data accumulated in its buffer. This is referred to as a bufferstatus report (BSR).

However, the buffer status report is generated in the form of a MACControl Element, then included into a MAC PDU, and transmitted from themobile terminal to the base station. In other words, uplink radioresources are also needed for transmitting the buffer status report.This means that uplink radio resource allocation request informationneeds to be sent in order to transmit the buffer status report. When thebuffer status report is generated, if uplink radio resources have beenallocated, the mobile terminal immediately uses such uplink radioresources to transmit the buffer status report. Such procedure performedby the mobile terminal to transmit a buffer status report to the basestation is referred to as a BSR procedure.

Such BSR procedure may be started (or triggered) in at least thefollowing types of situations:

-   -   with all buffers initially containing no data, when data newly        arrives for a particular buffer;    -   when data arrives at a buffer that is empty, and the priority of        the logical channel related to such buffer is higher than that        of the logical channel related to a buffer that previously had        data;    -   when a cell has changed.

However, after the BSR procedure is triggered, when allocation of uplinkradio resources is received, if all data in the buffer could betransmitted using such radio resources but there are not enough radioresources to accommodate the addition of the BSR, the mobile terminalcancels the triggered BSR procedure.

In other words, when the mobile terminal has some data that it needs totransmit, allocation of radio resources should be requested via the BSRprocedure, and thereafter, transmission of data is performed by usingthe allocated radio resources.

At some point in time, when there are radio resources having beenallocated, in particular, when there exists a BSR that was triggered orwhen there exists some data to be transmitted for a logical channel, themobile terminal at first includes the BSR in the allocated radioresources (i.e., the mobile terminal, first and foremost, uses theallocated radio resource for transmitting the BSR), and any remainingradio resources can then be used in transmitting data that exists forthe logical channel(s).

In other words, when there is a MAC control element(s) to be transmittedand logical channel data also exists, the data related to the MACcontrol element(s) is transmitted first, before any logical channel datatransmission. The MAC control element may include items such as the BSR.The MAC control element has different characteristics than upper layerdata, i.e., data for each logical channel. Namely, from the viewpoint ofthe MAC entity, the data of each logical channel is not generated withinthe MAC entity, but rather, received from the upper layer(s). However,the MAC control element is generated within the MAC entity. Such MACcontrol element(s) serve the purpose of allowing the MAC entity toproperly perform various functions. Thus, the MAC entity employs a MACcontrol element(s) to allow data to be properly delivered to the upperlayer(s). For such reasons, a MAC control element(s) should betransmitted at higher priority when compared to the data of each logicalchannel.

The BSR procedure can be used by a mobile terminal only in connectedmode, and idle mode mobile terminals cannot use the BSR procedure.Namely, when the mobile terminal is about to enter its connected modefrom idle mode, the mobile terminal generates and transmits an RRCconnection request message, but such RRC connection request message doesnot trigger the BSR procedure.

If the mobile terminal uses the CCCH, not only is the above-describedRRC connection request message used, but also an RRC connectionre-establishment request message can only be used. The RRC connectionre-establishment request message is used by a mobile terminal in RRCconnected mode for various situations, such as, when problems in signalquality is discovered, when problems arise in the RLC/PDCP protocolestablished in the mobile terminal, when a call connection is to bemaintained upon re-establishing an RRC connection, and the like.

For example, if the user of a mobile terminal is making an on-going callin a particular cell A, but then moves or travels to a certain location(such as walking into an elevator), the signal environment candeteriorate. In such case, the mobile terminal searches for a new celland attempts to access such new cell, and thus an RRC re-establishmentconnection request message needs to be sent.

In such procedure, the new cell that was searched may be the same cell(e.g. cell A mentioned above) that the mobile terminal previouslyaccessing, or may be a completely different cell. However, the mobileterminal does not know about the type of cell that was newly searched,and due to this, assumes that such new cell does not have anyinformation about such mobile terminal, and transmission of the RRCre-establishment connection message is performed. Thus, the mobileterminal cannot use the DCCH, but initially uses the CCCH to transmitthe RRC re-establishment connection request message.

The mobile terminal that performs the RRC re-establishment connectionprocedure is in RRC connected mode. Thus, with respect to the radioresources allocated to the mobile terminal, if a BSR that has beentriggered and an RRC re-establishment connection request message bothexist, the mobile terminal first uses the allocated radio resources inorder to transmit the triggered BSR, and then uses any remaining radioresources to transmit the RRC re-establishment connection requestmessage.

However, the above procedure may result in some problems. The RRCre-establishment request procedure is used when the mobile terminal isfaced with an abnormal situation. For example, if problems in signalquality occur and a call connection is in danger of being cut off, theRRC re-establishment request procedure is performed. In such situation,the RRC re-establishment request message being transmitted later thanthe BSR (i.e. radio resources are allocated for the RRC re-establishmentrequest message is performed after that for the BSR) means that the RRCconnection request message transmission takes more time to be performed.As a result, the RRC re-establishment procedure takes more time tocomplete, and the possibility of call disconnection increases.

Additionally, a message transmitted via the CCCH must go through the TMRLC, but such TM RLC does not have a function for separating suchmessage. Thus, if the BSR is first included with respect to allocatedradio resources, and if the remaining radio resources are insufficientfor including the RRC re-establishment request message, such RRCre-establishment request message cannot be transmitted until new radioresource allocation is received at a later time. Also, because theremaining radio resources (although insufficient for use in sending theRRC re-establishment request message) are not used, this results in awaste of radio resources.

In order to solve such problems, with respect to generating and sendinga MAC PDU by using the radio resources allocated to the mobile terminal,the level of priority between the buffer status report (BSR) and theestablished logical channels are defined, and thus specific proceduresfor more effectively, efficiently and quickly sending the data of eachlogical channel and buffer status report are proposed hereafter.

The priority of data to be transmitted via the CCCH may be set to behigher than the priority of buffer status data (BSR).

A MAC PDU may be generated by assuming that the priority of data to betransmitted via the CCCH is higher than the priority of buffer statusdata.

If radio resources have been allocated, the mobile terminal checks tosee if there is any buffer status report (BSR) and data to betransmitted via each logical channel. Also, if buffer status report(BSR) exists and when data to be sent via the CCCH has accumulated, theradio resources, which were allocated for transmitting the dataaccumulated for the CCCH, are employed. Thereafter, if there is anyremaining space in the allocated radio resources, such is sued totransmit the buffer status report (BSR).

Namely, if the mobile terminal has a CCCH SDU and also a BSR to betransmitted, the CCCH SDU is transmitted before the BSR.

Namely, if the mobile terminal has a CCCH SDU and also a BSR to betransmitted, radio resources are first allocated for the CCCH SSU andthen radio resources are allocated for the BSR.

In the above procedure, having a higher priority means that, withrespect to generating a MAC PDU using the radio resources allocated tothe mobile terminal, the data or MAC control element for a logicalchannel having relatively high priority receive allocation of radioresource (or are included in the MAC PDU) before the data or MAC controlelement for a logical channel having relatively low priority.

As a result, with respect to performing uplink transmissions by themobile terminal, CCCH data transmissions are given higher priority thanother MAC control elements such that problems during a call and calldisconnections are minimized.

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary flow chart of the procedure for the secondembodiment.

When the UE 100 uses its allocated radio resources to form (generate)and transmit a MAC PDU, the priority among the buffer status report(BSR) and logical channels is defined such that more effective,efficient and rapid transmission of logical channel data and BSR can beachieved.

A more detailed explanation will follow:

1) The UE 100 sends a resource allocation request for uplink (UL) datatransmission (S110).

2) The eNB 200 allocated radio resources and transmits a message thatindicates radio resource allocation (e.g. a Resource Allocation message)to the UE 100 (S120).

3) Upon allocation of resources, the UE 100 checks to see if there is abuffer status report (BSR) and data for each logical channel to betransmitted (S130).

4) The BSR and logical channel data to be transmitted are prioritizedaccordingly in decreasing order (S140).

Namely, when a BSR and logical channel data to be transmitted bothexist, the priority for data accumulated for the CCCH (among the logicalchannels) is set to have higher priority than that of the BSR (S141).Then, the priority of the BSR is set to be higher than that for data oflogical channels other than the CCCH (S142). When there are any radioresources that are available, such are used for transmitting the BSR.

5) The CCCH data, the BSR, and the other logical channel data aremultiplexed into a MAC PDU (S150).

6) The multiplexed MAC PDU is transmitted by using the allocated radioresources (S160).

In determining the priorities for each logical channel, the UE 100considers the following order:

First, the MAC control entity fir C-RNTI or UL-CCCH is considered.

Next, for padding, a MAC control entity for buffer status reportexcluding the BSR is considered.

Then, a MAC control entity for PBR (Prioritized Bit Rate) is considered.

Thereafter, logical channel data excluding the data from the UL-CCCH isconsidered.

Finally, the BSR included for padding is considered

The procedures described thus far may be implemented as software,hardware or any combination thereof. For example, the proceduresdescribed herein can be stored in a storage medium (e.g. internalmemory, flash memory, hard disk, etc.) in the form of codes or commandsof a software program executed by a processor (e.g., a microprocessorwithin the UE).

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary structure block diagram of a UE (100) and eNB(200) according to the embodiments described herein.

The UE comprises a storage means (101), a control means (102) and atransceiver (103). Similarly, the eNB comprises a storage means (201), acontrol means (202) and a transceiver (203). Such storage means (101,201) may be configured to store the procedures as shown in FIGS. 6through 8 for the first and second embodiments. The control means (102,202) provide control to the storage means (101, 201) and thetransceivers (103, 203), such that the procedures stored in the storagemeans (101, 201) are performed with appropriate signal transmission andreception via the transceivers (103, 203).

Some more details about the concepts and features of the inventiveembodiments described herein can also be summarized as follows.

The DRX Command MAC CE may be used to put a UE directly into eithershort or long DRX Cycle. But when a DRX Command MAC CE is received whilethe DRX Short Cycle Timer is running, the timer should not be affected.If the timer is started again (i.e. re-started), the UE is further putin wake-up state, causing more battery consumption. This situation canoccur when HARQ Re-transmission Grant for a MAC PDU which includes theDRX Command MAC CE is received while the Short DRX Cycle Timer isrunning. Here, the terms “start” and “re-start” may be distinguishedsuch that “start” is used when the timer is not running, while“re-start” is used when the timer is running. Thus, when the Short DRXCycle Timer is running, it cannot be started, but it can be restarted.

However, such potential problem may be avoided by implementing thefollowing concept: when DRX Command MAC CE is received while Short DRXCycle Timer is running, the MAC CE is ignored.

The Active Time may include “a PDCCH indicating a new transmissionaddressed to the C-RNTI or Temporary C-RNTI of the UE has not beenreceived after successful reception of a Random Access Response (RAR).”This would cover the period between the time of RAR reception and thetime of starting the contention resolution timer. Otherwise, the UEwould monitor the DL channels longer than needed. For example, evenafter the contention resolution timer expires due to reception of notemporary C-RNTI, the UE would still monitor the DL channels.

However, such potential problem may be avoided by implementing thefollowing: setting the Active Time to include the period between thetime of successful reception of RAR and the time of starting theContention Resolution timer (for the case of contention-based preamble).

In other words, the situations for a contention-based preamble can beclarified as above. If UE has to wake up until the reception of C-RNTIregardless of other problems, the features described herein can beapplied to situations for a dedicated preamble.

The maintenance of Uplink Time Alignment will be explained.

The UE may have a configurable Time Alignment Timer. The Time AlignmentTimer is valid only in the cell for which it was configured and started.

If the Time Alignment Timer has been configured, the UE shall:

-   -   when a Timing Advance MAC control element is received:    -   apply the Timing Advance Command;        -   start the Time Alignment Timer (if not running) or restart            the Time Alignment Timer (if already running).    -   when a Time Alignment Command is received in a Random Access        Response message:        -   if the Random Access Preamble and PRACH resource were            explicitly signalled:        -   apply the Time Alignment Command;        -   start the Time Alignment Timer (if not running) or restart            the Time Alignment Timer (if already running).    -   else, if the Time Alignment Timer is not running or has expired:        -   apply the Time Alignment Command;        -   start the Time Alignment Timer;        -   when the contention resolution is considered not successful,            stop the Time Alignment Timer.    -   else:        -   ignore the received Time Alignment Command.        -   when the Time Alignment Timer has expired or is not running:        -   prior to any uplink transmission, use the Random Access            procedure in order to obtain uplink Time Alignment.    -   when the Time Alignment Timer expires:        -   release all PUCCH resources;        -   release any assigned SRS resources.

Discontinuous Reception (DRX) will be explained. The UE may beconfigured by the RRC with a DRX functionality that allows it to notcontinuously monitor the PDCCH. The DRX functionality consists of a LongDRX cycle, a DRX Inactivity Timer, a DRX Retransmission Timer, andoptionally a Short DRX Cycle and a DRX Short Cycle Timer.

When a DRX cycle is configured, the Active Time includes the time:

-   -   while the On-Duration Timer or the DRX Inactivity Timer or a DRX        Retransmission Timer or the Contention Resolution Timer is        running; or    -   while a Scheduling Request is pending; or    -   while an uplink grant for a retransmission can occur; or    -   from the successful reception of a Random Access Response (RAR)        to the starting of the Contention Resolution Timer.

Here, the Active Time can also be defined as:

-   -   while a PDCCH indicating a new transmission addressed to the        C-RNTI of the UE has not been received after successful        reception of a Random Access Response, if the Random Access        Preamble was explicitly signaled; or    -   while the DL resuming timer is running. The DL resuming timer is        started when successful RAR is received in case that the Random        Access Preamble was explicitly signaled; (here, the DL resuming        timer is stopped when the C-RNTI of the UE is received)        (instead, it is also possible that the DL-resolution timer is        started when a dedicated preamble is received over the PDCCH)        or,    -   from the successful reception of a Random Access Response (RAR)        to the starting of the Contention Resolution Timer, if the        Random Access Preamble was selected by the UE MAC.

When a DRX cycle is configured, the UE shall perform the followingprocedures for each sub-frame:

-   -   start the On Duration Timer when [(SFN * 10)+sub-frame number]        modulo (current DRX Cycle)=DRX Start Offset;    -   if a HARQ RTT Timer expires in this sub-frame and the data in        the soft buffer of the corresponding HARQ process was not        successfully decoded:    -   start the DRX Retransmission Timer for the corresponding HARQ        process.    -   if a DRX Command MAC control element is received:        -   stop the On Duration Timer;        -   stop the DRX Inactivity Timer.    -   if the DRX Inactivity Timer expires or a DRX Command MAC control        element is received in this sub-frame:    -   if the short DRX cycle is configured:    -   if the DRX Short Cycle Timer is not running, start the DRX Short        Cycle Timer;        -   use the Short DRX Cycle.    -   else:    -   use the Long DRX cycle.    -   if the DRX Short Cycle Timer expires in this sub-frame:        -   use the long DRX cycle.    -   during the Active Time, for a PDCCH-sub-frame except if the        sub-frame is required for uplink transmission for half-duplex        FDD UE operation:        -   monitor the PDCCH;    -   if the PDCCH indicates a DL transmission:        -   start the HARQ RTT Timer for the corresponding HARQ process;        -   stop the DRX Retransmission Timer for the corresponding HARQ            process.    -   if the PDCCH indicates a new transmission (DL or UL):        -   start or restart the DRX Inactivity Timer.    -   if a DL assignment has been configured for this sub-frame and no        PDCCH indicating a DL transmission was successfully decoded:        -   start the HARQ RTT Timer for the corresponding HARQ process.    -   when not in active time, CQI and SRS shall not be reported.

Regardless of whether the UE is monitoring PDCCH or not the UE receivesand transmits HARQ feedback when such is expected.

The inventive embodiments described herein can further be described asfollows.

For the Logical Channel Prioritization procedure, the UE shall take intoaccount the following relative priority in decreasing order:

-   -   MAC control element for C-RNTI or data from UL-CCCH;    -   MAC control element for BSR, with exception of BSR included for        padding;    -   MAC control element for PHR;    -   data from any Logical Channel, except data from UL-CCCH;    -   MAC control element for BSR included for padding.

The UE shall allocate resources to the logical channels in the followingsteps:

-   -   Step 1: All the logical channels with Bj>0 are allocated        resources in a decreasing priority order. If the PBR of a radio        bearer is set to “infinity”, the UE shall allocate resources for        all the data that is available for transmission on the radio        bearer before meeting the PBR of the lower priority radio        bearer(s);    -   Step 2: the UE shall decrement Bj by the total size of MAC SDUs        served to logical channel j in Step 1

NOTE: The value of Bj can be negative.

-   -   Step 3: if any resources remain, all the logical channels are        served in a strict decreasing priority order (regardless of the        value of Bj) until either the data for that logical channel or        the UL grant is exhausted, whichever comes first. Logical        channels configured with equal priority should be served        equally.

The Logical Channel Prioritization procedure is applied when a newtransmission is performed.

RRC can control the scheduling of uplink data by giving each logicalchannel a priority where increasing priority values indicate lowerpriority levels. In addition, each logical channel is given aPrioritized Bit Rate (PBR).

The UE shall perform the following Logical Channel Prioritizationprocedure when a new transmission is performed:

-   -   The UE shall allocate resources to the logical channels in the        following sequence:    -   all the logical channels are allocated resources in a decreasing        priority order up to a value such that on average, the served        data rate for radio bearers that have data for transmission        equals the configured PBR for the radio bearer. If the PBR of a        radio bearer is set to “infinity”, the UE shall allocate        resources for all the data that is available for transmission on        the radio bearer before meeting the PBR of the lower priority        radio bearer(s);    -   if any resources remain, all the logical channels are served in        a strict decreasing priority order until either the data for        that logical channel or the UL grant is exhausted, whichever        comes first.    -   The UE shall also follow the rules below during the scheduling        procedures above:    -   the UE should not segment an RLC SDU (or partially transmitted        SDU or retransmitted RLC PDU) if the whole SDU (or partially        transmitted SDU or retransmitted RLC PDU) fits into the        remaining resources;    -   if the UE segments an RLC SDU from the logical channel, it shall        maximize the size of the segment to fill the grant as much as        possible;    -   the UE shall serve as much data as it can to fill the grant in        general.

However, if the remaining resources require the UE to segment an RLC SDUwith size smaller than x bytes or smaller than the L2 header size (FFS),the UE may use padding to fill the remaining resources instead ofsegmenting the RLC SDU and sending the segment.

Logical channels configured with the same priority shall be servedequally the by UE.

MAC control elements for BSR, with exception of Padding BSR, have higherpriority than U-plane Logical Channels.

At serving cell change, the first UL-DCCH MAC SDU to be transmitted inthe new cell has higher priority than MAC control elements for BSR.

UL-CCCH MAC SDU to be transmitted has higher priority than MAC controlelements for BSR.

The inventive features described herein can be summarized as follows.

A method of assembling a Medium Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit(PDU), the method comprising: allocating resources for all dataavailable for transmission on a common control channel (CCCH), thenallocating resources for all data available for transmission of a bufferstatus report (BSR), and then allocating resources for all dataavailable for transmission on logical channels other than the CCCH; andcombining at least one of the data for the CCCH, the data for the BSR,and the data for other logical channels other than the CCCH to form aMAC PDU to be transmitted. A priority of data for the CCCH among alllogical channels is higher than a priority of the BSR, and the priorityof the BSR is higher than a priority of data for other logical channelsother than the CCCH. The data of the CCCH comprises a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) re-establishment request message.

A method of transmitting a Medium Access Control (MAC) Protocol DataUnit (PDU), the method performed by a mobile terminal and comprising:requesting, to a network, allocation of resources for uplinktransmissions, wherein the requesting is performed by using a RACH(Random Access CHannel) procedure; receiving, from the network,allocation of resources for new transmissions; allocating resources tological channels for the new transmissions, wherein all logical channelsare allocated resources in a decreasing priority order, such that datafrom a CCCH has higher priority than a buffer status report (BSR) andthe BSR has higher priority than data from other logical channelsexcluding the CCCH; multiplexing at least one of the data from the CCCH,the BSR, and the data from other logical channels excluding the CCCHinto a MAC PDU to generate a multiplexed MAC PDU; and transmitting, tothe network, the multiplexed MAC PDU using the allocated resources. Ifthe mobile terminal changes to a new cell, a first DCCH (DedicatedControl Channel) MAC SDU (Service Data Unit) transmitted from the newcell is given higher priority than a MAC control element for the BSR.The data of the CCCH comprises a radio resource control (RRC)re-establishment request message. The requesting allocation of resourcesis performed with respect to a new cell.

A mobile terminal comprising: a transceiver configured to requestallocation of resources for uplink transmissions, wherein the requestuses a RACH procedure, and to receive allocation of resources for newtransmissions; and a processor configured to cooperate with thetransceiver and to allocate the resources to logical channels for thenew transmissions, wherein all logical channels are allocated resourcesin a decreasing priority order, data from a CCCH has higher prioritythan a buffer status report (BSR) and the BSR has higher priority thandata from other logical channels excluding the CCCH, to multiplex atleast one of the data from CCCH, the BSR, and the data from otherlogical channels excluding the CCCH into a MAC PDU to generate amultiplexed MAC PDU, and to transmit the multiplexed MAC PDU using theallocated resources. If the mobile terminal changes to a new cell, afirst DCCH (Dedicated Control Channel) MAC SDU (Service Data Unit)transmitted from the new cell has higher priority than a MAC controlelement for the BSR. The data of the CCCH comprises a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) re-establishment request message. The requestingallocation of resources is performed with respect to a new cell.

The various features and concepts described herein may be implemented insoftware, hardware, or a combination thereof. For example, a computerprogram (that is executed in a computer, a terminal or a network device)for a method and system for handling buffer status report (BSR) priorityfor CCCH transmissions may comprise one or more program code sectionsfor performing various tasks. Similarly, a software tool (that isexecuted in a computer, a terminal or a network device) for a method andsystem for handling buffer status report (BSR) priority for CCCHtransmissions may comprise program code portions for performing varioustasks.

The method and system for processing buffer status reports (BSRs)according to the present invention are compatible with various types oftechnologies and standards. Certain concepts described herein arerelated to various types of standards, such as GSM, WCDMA, 3GPP, LTE,IEEE, 4G and the like. However, it can be understood that the aboveexemplary standards are not intended to be limited, as other relatedstandards and technologies would also be applicable to the variousfeatures and concepts described herein.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The features and concepts herein are applicable to and can beimplemented in various types of user devices (e.g., mobile terminals,handsets, wireless communication devices, etc.) and/or network entitiesthat can be configured to support handling buffer status report (BSR)priority for CCCH transmissions.

As the various concepts and features described herein may be embodied inseveral forms without departing from the characteristics thereof, itshould also be understood that the above-described embodiments are notlimited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unlessotherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within itsscope as defined in the appended claims. Therefore, all changes andmodifications that fall within such scope or equivalents thereof aretherefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.

1-4. (canceled)
 5. A method of assembling a Medium Access Control (MAC)Protocol Data Unit (PDU), the method comprising: allocating resourcesfor one or more logical channels and MAC control element in apredetermined order; multiplexing one or more MAC SDUs from the one ormore logical channels and MAC control element, wherein the predeterminedorder includes; first, data from uplink-common control channel (UL-CCCH)Second, MAC control element for buffer status report (BSR).
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein if the MAC control element for the BSR is notfor padding, the MAC control element for the BSR has higher prioritythan the one more logical channels other than the UL-CCCH.
 7. The methodof claim 5, wherein the logical channels include UL-CCCH.
 8. A userequipment (UE) apparatus for assembling a Medium Access Control (MAC)Protocol Data Unit (PDU), comprising: a transmitter module; and aprocessor, wherein the processor allocates resources for one or morelogical channels and MAC control element in a predetermined order andmultiplexes one or more MAC SDUs from the one or more logical channelsand MAC control element, wherein the predetermined order includes;first, data from uplink-common control channel (UL-CCCH) Second, MACcontrol element for buffer status report (BSR).
 9. The method of claim8, wherein if the MAC control element for the BSR is not for padding,the MAC control element for the BSR has higher priority than the onemore logical channels other than the UL-CCCH.
 10. The method of claim 8,wherein the logical channels include UL-CCCH.